It is Saturday morning!
The sun is shining, there is a small brisk breeze and the first pot of coffee is brewing with an aroma that reminds you of home.
Now is it time to sit on the porch and relax and play a little music to help you sooth into the weekend.
Enjoy this Saturday morning play list and let yourself go to a happy place
Saturday Morning Relaxing Play List
By Brian Solis, blogger at BrianSolis.com and principal of FutureWorks, Author of the new book
Engage!, Co-Author, Putting the Public Back in Public Relations and Now Is Gone
You can find Brian on Twitter @briansolis
This twenty-three page comprehensive guide analyzes the utilization analytics around social media in different markets around the globe. It is a detailed look at how the changing world of social media outreach, branding, marketing, and interface is becoming a critical element in the success of individuals and business.
Brian takes us into each country and provides us with a birds eye view of the websites, the usage, and the engagement that social media plays in the foundation of different countries and cultures.
Take your first step onto the plane as we take a global journey from your couch and breakdown how the world sees itself in the eyes of the media monster. Release yourself from your local perceptions and see a world that has broken down the walls and become boundaryless. Welcome to the world of Global Social Media.
Thank you Brian Solis.
The State of Social Media Around the World 2010
Provided by: Patrick Walters, Associated Press
Full link:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39711675/ns/us_news-giving
Philanthropist is promoting a $250,000 effort called Hire Just One
A suburban Philadelphia philanthropist who believes charity is a powerful incentive thinks he can help get Americans back to work one donation at a time.
Gene Epstein, 71, is promoting a $250,000 effort called Hire Just One, with plans to make $1,000 donations to charity in the name of businesses that hire an unemployed person and keep the worker on the payroll for at least six months.
Epstein, who amassed a personal fortune through car sales and real estate investments, has set aside his money for the first 250 hires — and thinks thousands more jobs could be created if others took on his idea, too.
“It’s an encouragement to businesses to not wait,” said Epstein, who thinks the incentive may be just enough to get small businesses over the hump to make a hire in tough economic times. “This becomes like an incredible stimulus program.”
The idea came to Epstein at his sprawling home in suburban Bucks County last month. He said he hopes his program will encourage businesses in the region and beyond to make hundreds of thousands of new hires they wouldn’t have otherwise made.
More than 100 businesses have expressed interest, Epstein said, but for the most part he plans to wait until the new employees have been on the payrolls for six months before he makes the donations. Only time will tell how effective the incentive may be.
Epstein, known for matching gifts for organ donations and other charitable programs, previously promoted a novel way to increase voluntary organ donor signups: $10,000 insurance payouts to each donor’s eventual beneficiary. He and his wife, Marlene, have a charitable fund that contributes to the Jewish National Fund, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and other causes.
“They are going to see that they need more employees,” said Epstein, a registered Republican who has donated money to both political parties. He said he believes his program is a good way to address unemployment without the need for government intervention.
One expert on small businesses said a charitable incentive might prove more effective at spurring discussion in the boardroom than in translating into new hires.
“The upside is small enough that it probably is going to have more effect in bringing the issue up than it is in actually getting people to hire people,” said Lawrence Gelburd, a lecturer at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania who teaches about entrepreneurship and works with small businesses. “That’s a pretty tough sell.”
When businesses submit qualifying paperwork, Epstein expects to donate to groups like the American Red Cross, the food program Philabundance, organ donor efforts and others. Despite his requirement that businesses keep workers on the payroll at least six months first, Epstein said he recently made an exception and sent $3,200 from the fund to go toward the Flight 93 memorial in western Pennsylvania.
Epstein said he has been choosing most of the charities that will get donations so far, but he is not against businesses choosing the charity themselves, as long as the charity is legitimate.
Several participating businesses said hearing about Epstein’s philanthropic promise helped to push them over the hump and move toward making new hires.
“We’re gun-shy like everybody else,” said Philip Chant, vice president of Chant Engineering in New Britain, Pa., which has fewer than 40 employees. “It spurred the conversation internally as to, ‘Hey, we should hire somebody.’ That in turn got the conversation to ‘Hey, we should hire more than one person.’”
The company ended up making four new hires, he said, estimating that Epstein’s program probably got the company to make the hires about six months before it would have otherwise.
Chant said he expects all the new employees to still be working there in six months. He does not know yet if they were all unemployed beforehand, as the program requires.
“If we qualify, that’s great,” Chant said.
The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce has briefly discussed Epstein’s idea but isn’t sure how effective it will be in the long run, said spokesman Christopher Pinto.
It’s an innovative concept that Epstein is bringing to the table, he said, but there’s simply no way to know how well it could work at motivating businesses to hire in tough times.
An executive at a credit union said hearing about Epstein’s program did encourage him to finally move forward with hiring a social media coordinator.
“You need a driving force, someone to get us off the fence,” said T. Christian Roach, vice president at TruMark Financial Credit Union in New Britain, Pa., which has more than a dozen locations in the Philadelphia region.
But Roach said he wasn’t committed to hiring an unemployed worker.
“I’m just looking for the best candidate,” he said. “Hopefully, you put somebody to work.”
J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets
This is a chant I have been saying since I was seven years old. Of course at that point, I wasn’t sure why I was saying it. I think it was because I was the youngest child and I was trying to gather my own identity swimming in a sea of Giants fans. My angst was coming out of its shell. Then again, I grew up in a small suburban town that has one violent crime every thirty years.
Growing up in Northern Jersey you adopted the New York teams. South Jersey took on the Philadelphia teams. It was that simple. There was no in between but within the family infrastructure there was always a divided camp. With me, I was my own camp. After all these years, I have remained loyal to Gang Green. I bleed green every August through December and pray it carries into January. This loyalty will remain with me for the rest of my life.
Why can we not feel the same level of loyalty for our employer? Let us weigh the concerns and try to rationalize:
1.) Companies are only out to make profit. Very true but so are the New York Jets. As we layer that deeper, so are each and every one of us.
2.) We are all expendable? We are all human and mortal, but when we dedicate ourselves to our friends, they remain with us. If we provide that same dedication and commitment to our roles and the beliefs of the company, that feeling will be reciprocated.
3.) It is just a job. A job is something you do the provide income so you can maintain a certain standard of living. A career is a passionate display of loyalty, commitment, dedication and determination to provide the tools and actions that will lead you to further personal growth and development. The correct question you need to ask yourself: Is this a job or a career?
4.) How do I know the company is rewarding my loyalty. Each day through a series of monetary and non-monetary reward and recognition programs, you are reminded of the impact your service is providing on the bottom line growth of the organization. Companies built trust through loyalty to their customers, vendors, suppliers and associates/employees. They do understand the value of recognition.
When one is offered a career opportunity, it is a tremendous risk to the employer. A new employee is being invited into a new environment and given a tremendous amount of trust with proprietary and sensitive information, excellent training and a request to adhere to the strongest of moral and ethical standards. A company is accepting the risk and the reason is simple: They believe in you and the talent you bring.
This is a formidable honor to be invited into this realm and asked to utilize your expertise for the greater good.
As we continue to witness extraordinary events take place and companies being forced to make decisions that are both trying and difficult, understand that these decisions are meant for the greater good of the population. If you are dedicated, moral, developing your strengths, and loyal to the mission, products/services and the name your stand beyond, your loyalty will pay off when it really counts.
If you are in a relaxed mood, feeling a sense of romance or compassion, looking for the deeper sense of human emotion or just want to light some candles and relax, this is a wonderful play list that will relax you and have you thinking about life and all that is good.
Why would I write a post about the death of agencies when they are still active and a valued part of many companies budgets and recruitment process? That is a very insightful question and one the deserves a well outlined response.
First, on behalf of all the companies both small and large, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the thousands of valuable human capital assets provided over the years. Those assets have provided us with innovation and productivity that have helped carry us onto the next phase in our evolution. It is with a deep heart that we say goodbye.
We will miss the gift baskets around the holidays, the 30,000 dollar vouchers, the feeling that you were our best friend in the world, and the comfort of knowing that you know our business, roles and products. It was a warm feeling that still provides chills at night.
Now, is the part of the broadcast where we explain why the demise is near.
1.) A growing number of organizations are developing dedicated strategic sourcing teams to pipeline current and future talent needs. These individuals blend a balance of talent acquisition and marketing to develop processes around finding and attracting talent. Utilizing Boolean search string technology, developing and managing talent communities, adapting targeted email campaigns, CRM tool tracking, and cold calling, it is only a matter of time before the church bells chime and we mourn the passing of agency fees
2.) Internet connection tools powered by sites including Ping.fm allow us to brand out opportunities to thousands upon thousands of people within seconds. Just yesterday, I sent a Tweet with a URL description through Pluggio.com and with the integration of Ping.fm, the tweet went to Flickr, Yahoo Profile, Google Buzz, Delicious, Yammer, Ning, Twitter, Facebook and Myspace and that was only the tip of the iceberg. Why Flickr and Delicious. Networking is no longer using professional communities as a way of finding talent. How many of us have Amazon or Barnes and Noble accounts and followers of our books lists. Talent can be found under many more rocks than ever before.
3.) Macros and schedulers are alive and well. Software like IMacro, Pluggio and Tweetdeck allow us to not only tweet and post jobs to Twitter and LinkedIn but they allow us to schedule how often we post them.
4.) Cost effective partnerships – Tweetmyjobs tweets 1.2 million jobs per day and they have accounts that send by region and discipline. Oodle.com posts roles to over 100 sites including Myspace and Facebook for free. Twitres.com allows you to post resumes or jobs for free and re-tweet as often as you like.
5.) Talent Communities – Companies are taking advantage of Linkedin Groups, Google Groups, Yahoo Groups and many others to build talent communities for networking and maintaining contact with potential future talent.
6.) As social media is making bringing the world closer together networking and referrals are a more valued asset.
7.) Many companies are building alumni talent communities and even offering referral bonuses
8.) Blogging, live chat and fan sites are allowing companies to talk to customers, vendors and candidates and educate them on culture, product/services and solicit information. As candidates become more involved, their sense of value will grow and thus their interest in the company.
9.) Mobile campaigns are taking the number communication media in the world and reaching out to the associates of tomorrow.
The evolution is here. As we step into a new age of cost effective operation, efficiencies of process are spurring out. To the victor, companies will rise again. To the search agencies, R.I.P.
Provided by: Recruiter (http://www.recruiter.co.uk)
Faced with the recruitment of thousands of new hires over a period of years, HR consulting and outsourcing solutions firm Hewitt Associates has started to build a global sourcing operation.
The ’big pitch’ to sell the idea of building such a team to Hewitt’s leaders involved three goals: increase quality and quantity of candidates, and decrease costs. But to accomplish those goals, the right people had to be in place to do the job. “We were going to build a sourcing organization like no one else,” said Chris J Gould, global strategic sourcing leader. “We were selling a concept that didn’t exist.”
The North American arm of Hewitt had previously “very high use” of career boards to source candidates. The results were not tracked and as a result there was little co-ordination of the boards’ use.
An experienced talent acquisition manager was hired. Then five Hewitt employees in India who had never before recruited were chosen to fill the first group of sourcers’ roles. Initially, they assisted North American sourcers and had no contact with North American recruiters. Their training included working for two weeks on one job requisition.
The department now includes 20 sourcers who have their own requisition load, work directly with North American recruiters and conduct strategic research. Their responsibilities are expanding to a global remit. “Now everyone is a fully trained sourcer,” Gould said. “We went from searching Monster to doing research and executive level searches.”
A sourcing dashboard has been put in place to easily see where all candidates are being sourced from. “If a job hasn’t been filed by a source for some time, then they are told not to use that channel again,” said Tim O’Connor, talent acquisition sourcing and social media manager.
Asked by an audience member what Hewitt’s recruiters now do, O’Connor said: “Now they’re only talking to the best [candidates], and they’re building relationships with the hiring managers.”
Full Link:
Provided by Associated Press / Bloomberg News
Aon Corp., the world’s biggest insurance broker, plans to cut 1,500 to 1,800 jobs globally as it integrates businesses after the acquisition of consulting firm Hewitt Associates Inc. The cuts and real estate consolidation process will occur over the next three years.
The reductions and other expenses, including those tied to real estate, will cost about $325 million, the Chicago-based company said today in a regulatory filing. Aon said it expects the integration to generate annual savings of about $355 million in 2013.
Chief Executive Officer Gregory Case completed the $4.7 billion purchase on Oct. 1. The acquisition, Aon’s biggest, added to the broker’s consulting businesses. Aon Hewitt, the subsidiary created by Case to integrate the businesses, has about 29,000 employees.
“There are going to be some redundancies as part of this” acquisition, Case told analysts in a July conference call. “But the focal point, our energies are really going to be around how we build this and grow this.”
Aon’s expenses will be split between $180 million of employee termination costs and $145 million to reorganize real estate, the company said.
Full Link:
Provided by Bbc.co.uk – Health News
Full Link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11537063
Love can ease pain, say brain researchers
Pain Researchers believe love can act as a painkiller
Love hurts, at least according to many a romantic songwriter, but it may also help ease pain, US scientists suggest.
Brain scans suggest many of the areas normally involved in pain response are also activated by amorous thoughts.
Stanford University researchers gave 15 students mild doses of pain, while checking if they were distracted by gazing at photos of their beloved.
The study focused on people early in a romance, journal PLoS One reported, so the “drug of love” may wear off.
The scientists who carried out the experiment used “functional magnetic resonance imaging” (fMRI) to measure activity in real-time in different parts of the brain.
Continue reading the main story
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It has been known for some time that strong feelings of love are linked to intense activity in several different brain regions.
These include areas linked to the brain chemical dopamine, which produces the brain’s feel-good state following certain stimulants – from eating sweets to taking cocaine.
“Light up”
The Stanford University researchers had noticed that when we feel pain, some of the same areas “light up” on the scans – and wondered whether one might affect the other.
They recruited a dozen students who were all in the first nine months of a relationship, defined as “the first phase of intense love”.
Each was asked to bring in a picture of the object of their affection and photos of what they deemed an equally attractive acquaintance.
While their brains were scanned, they were shown these pictures, while a computer controlled heat pad placed in the palm of their hand was set up to cause them mild pain.
They found that viewing the picture of their beloved reduced perceptions of pain much more than looking at the image of the acquaintance.
Dr Jarred Younger, one of the researchers involved, said that the “love-induced analgesia” appeared to involve more primitive functions of the brain, working in a similar way to opioid painkillers.
“One of the key sites is the nucleus accumbens, a key reward addiction centre for opioids, cocaine and other drugs of abuse.
“The region tells the brain that you really need to keep doing this.”
Professor Paul Gilbert, a neuropsychologist from the University of Derby, said that the relationship between emotional states and the perception of pain was clear.
He said: “One example is a footballer who has suffered quite a painful injury, but who is able to continue playing because of his emotionally charged state.”
He added that while the effect noticed by the Stanford researchers might only be short-lived in the early stages of a love affair, it may well be replaced by something similar later in a relationship, with a sense of comfort and well being generating the release of endorphins.
“It’s important to recognize that people who feel alone and depressed may have very low pain thresholds, whereas the reverse can be true for people who feel secure and cared for.
“This may well be an issue for the health service, as patients are sometimes rushed through the system, and perhaps there isn’t this focus on caring that might have existed once.”
“It’s important to recognize that people who feel alone and depressed may have very low pain thresholds, whereas the reverse can be true for people who feel secure and cared for”
-Professor Paul Gilbert University of Derby
Featured in Employee Benefit News – By Emily Chardac
Contributing Editor to Employee Benefit News, Emily is an HR professional with degrees in human resources and international business. She can be reached at emily.chardac@gmail.com.
I’m probably not the only one who gets chills when I enter an airport. There is something unnerving about the bustling people, smell of burnt coffee and the disgruntled airport employee looking for Charlie Jones because he’s about to miss his flight.
For employees traveling abroad, there’s the added anxiety of leaving the country. However, you can help ease some of that anxiety by providing comprehensive information so that employees traveling overseas are equipped to make informed decisions.
Vaccination coverage
Let’s start with vaccinations. Refer overseas travelers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website (www.cdc.gov) or the State Department website (www.travel.state.gov) to learn the vaccinations that are recommended for particular geographic locations. Once employees know which vaccinations might be needed, it’s important to help them find out if your company’s health insurance covers those particular vaccinations.
While I can’t speak to every insurance plan, I would assume that most insurance plans would have restrictions on hepatitis A for adults, malaria, and possibly cholera or yellow fever.
Some insurance plans view particular vaccinations as nonroutine or not medically necessary when the subscriber does not need the vaccination within the country they reside in.
These particular vaccinations could range from $100 to $500 each, depending on the dosage; therefore, it’s imperative to know what your plan covers when it comes to vaccinations. One alternative would be to verify eligibility for reimbursement through a flexible spending account or health savings account.
What if?
I often have to discuss “what if?” scenarios with employees traveling abroad. Specifically, what if they get injured or ill while abroad? As a benefits administrator, I prefer having these conversations in person. It gives me an opportunity to help the person become familiar with my organization’s website to be self-sufficient throughout the process. A few main talking points:
1. Inform employees whether or not your health plan reimburses for out-of-network services for routine, nonemergency and emergency services. In the United States, some health plans make these distinctions.
If your health plan does reimburse in one or more of these scenarios, give employees the paperwork and procedures they’ll need to file an out-of-network claim – including the claim form, who to fax or mail the document to and a person to contact with any questions.
Note: Toll-free numbers often don’t work properly when dialing outside of the United States, so make sure you find an international-friendly number to give employees.Include how the employee should document transactions, such as providing receipts, English translation and currency converter.
2. Explain that a U.S. insurance card will have no value in other countries. Therefore, travelers will need to pay for their expenses out of pocket. Assure them of the out-of-network reimbursement procedures, if applicable.
3. Remind employees to know the address and phone number of the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate in the country they are visiting.
Life-threatening situation
The next conversation I have with employees usually is the most uncomfortable for me. It’s necessary to discuss what would happen if an employee suddenly became ill or were in a life-threatening situation. Try to touch on a situation where the employee might need an air ambulance or large reservation of seats on a commercial flight with room enough for medical equipment.
Medical evacuation insurance can provide coverage that allows someone to have the comfort of being transported to their home country. Most employer health insurance plans wouldn’t include this provision, so the employee will need to shop around.
Repatriation of remains is another difficult conversation. What if an employee or dependent passes away while traveling abroad? This insurance provides coverage for the transport of one’s body or remains in the event the covered member dies.
Sometimes subscribers can purchase both the medical evacuation and repatriation of remains insurance together for a very nominal cost.
Some of these topics are quite difficult to talk about as a benefits administrator. However, you’ll find that most employees will appreciate your guidance and find it incredibly helpful as they reach an informed decision.
I always remind employees of the best piece of advice I received from a former supervisor: “Buy insurance for when you need it, not when you guess how you will need it.” That tip has always been helpful for me, and I hope it’s helpful for your employees as well. Happy traveling!
http://ebn.benefitnews.com/news/employees–insurance–abroad-2684349-1.html
Human Resources, Talent Acquisition, Global Social Media and Marketing Solutions including: organizational development, team building, change management, compensation structural development and implementation, social media and talent community development, growth and advancement, training, rewards and recognition, recruitment, attrition control, affirmative action administration, labor relations and M&A.
Trainer
So You Think You Can Interview - ProNet August, 2010 Personal Branding and Social Media Resources - ProNet June, 2010 Personal Branding and Social Media Resources - Lee Hecht Harrison July, 2010 Personal Branding and Social Media Tooling - Lenova Women in Leadership September, 2010 Your Life Bag - ProNet October, 2010, The Effects of Social Media in the Workplace - Carolinas Payroll Conference November 2012
Published Author
Sonni's Abyss (June 2008)
A Beautiful World (February 2011)
This Time Around (Scheduled for February 2013 Publication)
